Having a base in Norfolk is a godsend for us and cycling – very few hills and open quite roads for miles mean you can pretty much just get lost and then find your way back without too much worry on a day’s ride. However, for those with hills, major roads and traffic beyond the local farmer, finding (and keeping to!) a planned cycle route can be a nightmare – until now. The all new Garmin Edge 820 GPS takes cycling and GPS to the next level, read on for our Garmin Edge 820 GPS Review.

The lightweight and compact Garmin Edge 820 features 2.3-inch high-res, touchscreen display that works with gloves and is completely waterproof, so you don’t even need to worry about the elements as it works perfectly when wet. An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness too, so it’s easy for you to see at a glance – whilst still conserving battery.

The Edge 820 of course comes with Garmin Cycle Map to provide you with routable road and bike paths, elevation data, points of interest and address search. If you aren’t going anywhere particular, round-trip routing to let the Edge 820 select a cycling-friendly route for you, based on how far you want to ride, beginning to end. We tested this a few times and it choose some nice routes and even gave multiple options around our chosen distance – allowing us to choose which one we wanted to choose.

The GPS and ‘sat-nav’ function is as you would expect from Garmin – top notch. The screen is clear and easy to see with voice commands if you wish. Think of it as a personal guide to chat to you when you are lonely on your ride…

Of course, naturally the Edge 820 tracks your performance too. The likes of your speed, cadence and heart rate are all sorted as the 820 is compatible with ANT+ sensors. Strada comes bundled with all the standard tracking as well as live segments – allowing you to keep an eye on real time stats per mile and of course share with your followers. There’s also a new feature called Garmin ‘GroupTrack’, which allows you to pair your device through Garmin Connect, so you can keep tabs on other riders in your group or who you are tracking – handy when you’re fast (or slow) on the tarmac as we are!

If that’s not enough in terms of stat – for even more performance data, the 820 is also compatible with ANT+ power meters, so you can also measure total power, and left/right balance if you’re really looking to hone your craft.

Overall the new Garmin Edge 820 GPS Review is unrivalled when it comes to cycling GPS and if you are looking to avoid the hills, main roads or just track your rides in an easier fashion, the Garmin Edge 820 has to be on your shortlist. Available now from £329 on Cycle Republic.

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